Heather McLean

The next meeting of the Fort Worth chapter of the APLN is on September 14, 2010. For the next 3 meetings, Harry Long and Charley Seaman will be presenting Scrum basics since the group is comprised of some experienced Scrum users but many non-Scrum users. Harry and Charley have been working with Scrum / Agile for over 5 years in a wide spectrum of industries.  They worked together at ThinkCash where Scrum/Agile was at an immature state and they helped grow it to a mature state.

Contact Charley Seaman at fortworthapln@gmail.com for more information.

The next meeting of the Fort Worth chapter of the Agile Project Leadership Network will be June 10, 2010. The speaker will be Julie Chickering.

Julie Chickering is an Agile Coach with Rally Software in Boulder, Colorado. Her passion is coaching teams to a better, more fun work life. She has the proven ability to transfer job knowledge and skills to all levels, including distributed teams, and has a solid track record leading teams through the challenging transition from waterfall to Agile practices. Julie brings more than 15 years of experience in the software development industry – most recently at Travelocity.com as an Agile team mentor and at a leading global Agile consultancy as a Senior Consultant.

Julie is a board member of the Agile Project Management Network (APLN), dedicated to connecting, developing and supporting great project leaders. Julie is a co-founder of the Dallas chapter of the APLN. Julie is a Certified ScrumMaster and holds a PMP certification.

Please contact Charles Seaman at fortworthapln@gmail.com for more information.

The next meeting of the Fort Worth chapter of the APLN is on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. The speakers will be Ken Howard and Barry Rogers of Improving Enterprises.

Abstract: This highly interactive and fun session takes a refreshing look at the human element with actionable techniques that targets individuals and their interactions. Many believe that Agile is less about specific processes and tools and more about effective teams and productive communication. The first value of the Agile Manifesto emphasizes individuals and interactions yet everywhere you look the focus seems to be on processes and tools. Topics range from enhancing interpersonal communication (Tango) to effectively leveraging the anatomy of your team (Square Dance).

For more information, contact Charles Seaman at fortworthapln@gmail.com.

The next meeting of the Fort Worth APLN is on August 11, 2009 at 6:30 PM. The speaker will be Ben Gatzke:

Ben Gatzke has been delivering ecommerce software for a decade beginning with his time at Accenture where his teams delivered B2B netcentric solutions for major energy firms such as BP and Exxon Mobil.  Next, as the technology founder of PayDay One/ThinkCash, Ben’s success garnered the company the support of two of the largest VCs in the nation, Sequoia and Technology Crossover Ventures.  Ben is currently practicing agile consulting across the US for teams ready to take value-driven delivery to the next level.

As usual, if you want more information, contact Charles Seaman at fortworthapln@gmail.com.

The next meeting of the Fort Worth APLN is on June 11, 2009 at 6:30 PM. From the summary:

Based upon last month’s speakers topic ‘Speed bumps – Challenges on the road to Agility’, we thought we would pull three Bumps and discuss in small groups.

The selected bumps will be:

• Team Organization
• Story Points and Velocity
• Sprint Planning

As usual, if you want more information, contact Charles Seaman at fortworthapln@gmail.com.

Shameless plug for the new Fort Worth chapter of the APLN. It will be 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. on April 16, 2009. The speaker will be Ash Tengshe from Capital One Auto Finanace. Attendance is free. If you’d like more details, please contact Charles Seaman at fortworthapln@gmail.com.

Not agile related… just a note to myself. Something I might be interested in attending if I have the time.

Future of Web Apps – Miami 2009

Well, it looks like I won’t get to do Agile Development Practices 2008 as I posted earlier, due to a horrible case of tonsillitis. I doubt, as I am still bed-ridden today, that I will be in any shape to travel by Sunday. This makes me really sad since I was looking forward to the conference.

Updated 6:09pm: Looks like they were able to transfer my registration to STAREAST, though, so all is not lost!

I just registered to head to Agile Development Practices 2008 in Orlando, Florida. I will be there for two tutorial and two conference days, November 10 – 13. I won’t be making the APLN summit due to a conflict on the 14th. I will be posting about the conference ongoing while I’m there.

Here’s what my schedule’s looking like.

Monday, November 10

8:30 -12:00, 1:00 – 4:00: The Zen of Agile Management with David Anderson

Tuesday, November 11

8:30 – 12:00: Leading Successful Projects in Changing Environments with Pollyanna Pixton
1:00 – 4:00: Practical Agile: Real World Practices with Jared Richardson

Wednesday, November 12

8:30 – 8:45: Opening Remarks with Lee Copeland
8:45 – 9:45: Seven Years Later: What the Agile Manifesto Left Out with Brian Marick
10:00 – 11:30: Are We There Yet? Defining “Done” with Mitch Lacey
12:45 – 2:15: Pragmatic Agility with Andy Hunt
2:45 – 4:15: Beyond Best Practices: Keeping Agile Agile with Dan North

Thursday, November 13

8:30 – 8:45: Opening Remarks with Lee Copeland
8:45 – 9:45: Collaborative Leadership: A Secret to Agile Success with Pollyanna Pixton
10:00 – 11:30: When to Step Up, When to Step Back: How to Lead Collaboration with Pollyanna Pixton
12:45 – 2:15: Maximizing Team Dynamics and Overcoming Dysfunction in Agile Environments with Michael Mah
2:45 – 4:15: Scaling Agile Up and Out: A Tale from the Trenches with Ade Miller

Of course, this is just all the scheduled activities. In between there’s plenty of time for networking, discussion, and food. :)